Under Rapture's Grip
by The Broken Keyboard
Summary: Alex Mercer is in a sticky situation: He's in Rapture and has no way to go home! How can he cope with the monstrous, deformed and cute? Well, he doesn't know. Will this end good for him? Find out in Under Rapture's Grip. R
1. Welcome To Rapture

**_NOVEMBER 8TH, 2009; NEW YORK, RED CROWN COMMAND BASE._**

_"Take him to the Containment Chamber! We'll drop him in the ocean. If there's one thing McMullen did right, it was finding his weakness."_

_"But sir, won't McMullen-"_

_"Look, McMullen works for us, we don't work for him. We have the upper hand and we can do anything we want to, Mercer. Now, take him into the chamber."_

_"But ...Sir?"_

_"What, Admiral?"_

_"Which ocean should we drop him in?"_

_"Did you really just ask that question?"_

_"Well, sir. Yes. We could drop him somewhere so far away and so deep that it will only take time before he can finally catch up to us."_

_"Good point, Admiral Johnson. Drop him in the Mid-Atlantic. What he doesn't know won't hurt him."_

_

* * *

_Alex Mercer's eyes fluttered open, his vision blurred and his head dizzy. Before General Randall gave the command of putting him in the containment chamber, they heavily sedated him, leaving just enough time for him to realize that he was at the bottom of the sea. But by the time Alex would realize it, it would already be too late. Mercer groaned, sitting up in the cramped containment chamber. He stared at his small surroundings, and it took him a moment or two to realize that he wasn't in New York.

Or on land altogether.

Now alert and ready, Alex panicked, his face and hands pressed to the cold glass of the window on the containment chamber.

"What the....?" He gasped as he looked where he was. Everywhere he looked, there was blue. Fish danced, octopi glided through the cool clear waters, and a whale passed him, it's low, deep, graceful bellows made Mercer's ears ring. Shaking his head with disbelief, he realized something.

He was at the bottom of the ocean.

Frantically pressing his face more to the glass, Alex tried to look up, only catching a glimpse of what seemed to be the surface, now far beyond his reach. A cold pang of hate filled his stomach, as he gritted his teeth, and his vision blackening again. _Looks like the sedation is still going strong..._ Mercer thought as he slipped into unconsciousness...

* * *

_"Look, it's one of 'dem Bathyspheres!"_

_"Someone's inside of it!"_

_"That's not a Bathysphere, you moron! It's something else..."  
_

_"Maybe they have ADAM~ Mmmmm...How long has it been since we had ADAM?"_

_"How long has it been PERIOD. We've been here so long...Even our folks seem to think it's an eternity..."_

_"Are there even anymore Little Sisters around? They used to be chock full 'o 'dem...."_

Mercer stirred, groaning. He whole body felt numb, and weak...Like someone injected him with that horrible anti-virus he was subjected to not long ago. He heard one, two...maybe three people. All of them seemed to sound like their mouths were numb with Novocaine, or whatever those dentists filled your gums with.

_"Look, he's waking up."_

_"Should we kill him? It'll make the Little Sisters come."_

_"...Yeah...And then we can get all the ADAM we want!"_

ADAM....?

Immediately, Alex shot up, realizing that he was sitting inside the container, and that three people were crowded around it. Two men, one woman. But both were horribly disfigured, and the woman was wielding a wrench. He slid far to the back of the containment chamber until the cold metal was pressed into his back. He didn't know where he was, or if he was dreaming. But Alex knew one thing: He had to get out of here.

_BANG!_ With one hit of the wrench the woman opened the door to the containment chamber, the door opening with a hiss. Her melted face smiled with glee as she put one foot in the chamber.

"We don't like newcomers to Rapture...It tends to get...complicated. However, you might have some ADAM inside of you...And we would love to have some." She licked her lips and smiled again, but she didn't smile when Alex's right arm began to pulsate and transform, his body made of biomass allowed the arm to transform into a large, sharp blade. Instantly, the woman stepped back, and Mercer smirked. His emotion changed; however, when he realized that he was still under the sea, and the woman mention Rapture.

"Answer me this: Where am I and what is Rapture? And what the heck is ADAM?" The woman merely stood there, her disfigured mouth agape. The other two men peered in, one cried out in surprise as he saw the blade that was Mercer's right arm.

"That must be some kinda Plasmid!" One of them uttered, donning a suit and a Fedora hat that masked his obvious lumpy head. The other shook his head and bopped him on the head.

"How can it be when _HE JUST CAME HERE?!_" The man in the Fedora frowned, his head bowed. Alex stood up, and grabbed the woman's dainty yet dirty hand.

"Where am I?" He growled. She stuttered before saying,

"R-Uh, R-....Rapture. It's a city. Underwater."

_And how come the people up above never heard of it?_ Alex thought as he stared at her, cold blue eyes prodding hers. He didn't even notice the wrench falling to the floor, the woman too scared to even wield it. The other two men stared in silence as Mercer's grip on the woman's hand grew tighter, the pure thought of being stuck here enraged him.

"Ah-ah! You're hurting me!" The yelped, trying to wrench her arm away.

"You know more than you're telling me. What's Rapture, and why haven't people on land heard of this? And what's ADAM, and Little Sisters?" She said nothing, but screamed when Alex grinded her small fingers together. Immediately, the man in the Fedora growled and grabbed the woman's other arm, pulling her away from Mercer.

"Hey! You can't do that to her! She's a lady!" He picked up the wrench and smashed it against his hand, which had no effect whatsoever. Alex frowned and raised his blade of an arm and brought swiftly brought it down, chopping off the hands of the woman and man. Both screamed, the blood spurting deliciously from their wounds and decorating the containment chamber. Mercer stepped over the now crumpling couple and walked over to the last man standing; He looked like more of a wreck, his melted face painted a comical picture of fear as Alex grabbed him by the tattered clothing he wore and hoisted him into the air.

"Last one. Tell me more about this place or I'll end you in a worse way than your buddies over there."

"I-I-P-Please! PLEASE DON'T!" The man cried, thrashing in virus' strong grip. "I know who you can go to, I'll even take you to him!" Mercer shook his head and threw the man into a Vita-Chamber (though Alex didn't know what it was). A sickening splat was heard as bone and dying flesh met the hard cold melt and glass of the chamber. Surprisingly, the man was still alive. Barely. Still alive to say, "...Splicer....Matthew...." Alex cocked his head to the right in questioning the man's dying words.

"Should have kept him alive." He muttered as he saw the man slump, dead. "Would have been a lot easier. Alright...Now, Splicer. Matthew. Rapture. Little Sisters. ADAM...This is going to be one heck of a time."

* * *

"Look, Mister B, an angel. There's a light in his tummy."

_"Mmmmrph."_

"Who wants gonna wake the little angel? I doooo~ I doooo~"

_"Mmmmmmmmppph...."_

_Shick! .....Shick! ......Shick!_


	2. Plans

A/N: I might make a timeline or some sort of chart for this story...The Splicer/Little Sister therom was my idea. It could happen, never know. I hope you like this. I know I do... c:

Alex yawned as he stretched, the sedation still in effect, making him queasy. After the slashing of those...things, he took off on his own, roaming around Rapture. He didn't know where he was, some theater. Specifically, an atrium. Too many rooms, too many things to understand. Alex felt sick to his stomach, and he didn't care where he threw up.

The place looked like a dump anyways.

Well, not really. For a broken down place the atrium looked spruced up a bit. There was a grand staircase in the middle, and to the right of it was a stage. Alex looked at the stage, eyes blinking from the dizziness. There were...plastered models, though they were old and worn down. People in poses, and it looked like they were holding pictures. _Nevermind that,_ Alex thought. _I need to find a way to get out of here. Maybe... _The area around looked like it was cleaned up. Broken glass and large chunks of plaster were pushed to the corners of the atrium, the staircase was littered with rose petals, and a red carpet covered the marble stairs. The floor looked through numerous attempts of waxing, and so did the stage. The plaster models were too far to examine, and the whole room was slightly illuminated by the neon lights of the signs that were both upstairs and downstairs, thought there were only a few.

To the right, Mercer heard voices.

"Look, did you see that blood evr'where?"

"Yes, b-"

"NO BUTS! Either one o' 'dose tin cans musta had PMS an' distroyed those Splicers, o' there's someone down here."

"....Whattya mean?"

"A newcomer, tho' I dunno how they got here. Samuel tryin' to make 'dis city alive, an' someone's here to make it worse."

"....I'm scared."

"You should be."

Alex frowned and backed into the shadows, footsteps becoming louder and louder as two men walked in, rabbit masks over there faces and their hands wielding hooks. He blended into the shadows, hopeful that he cloaked himself in time. The men stopped at the foot of the staircase, one was twirling a hook in his right hand.

"Well, do you know where he is?" One said.

"No, an' I don't want to look fer him. Sheen, I thought you were smarter than that." The man named Sheen hunched over a bit in disappointment, obviously saddened by this comment.

"I am..."

"Then dun't mention 'im again!" He snapped at Sheen, who cowered. Alex squinted his eyes, his vision blurring. _This is just more than a freakin' sedative..._ He thought, his palms growing sweaty and clammy. _I gotta get out of here before...._ Mercer collapsed onto the floor, his hand exposed in the dim neon light, and both men turned around to look where the source of the sound was.

"...What was that?" Said Sheen, walking over to the hand and touching it. The other man crouched and grabbed the hand and pulled it out from the shadows. Alex Mercer was in a wreck. He was sweating, shaking and shivering. A smile spread wide across Sheen's face.

"You know what this means Paul?" Sheen chuckled, turning to Paul, who merely nodded.

"Payout. We're taking 'im to Samuel, an' we might jus' git a payload o' ADAM." Paul grabbed both of Mercer's hands and Sheen took the legs, and with that, they carried the unconscious man to Samuel.

* * *

For Susie, everything was splendid. Her protector, a man named Johnny Casing was nicknamed Mr. Bubbles, as was all of the Big Daddies she went through. Susie was extracting ADAM from a corpse and humming to herself.

"Mr. Bubbles, Mr. Bubbles, where are you? Where are you? Come and bring me lollies, come and bring me toffees. Teddy bears. Teddy bears." Johnny Casing, though grafted into a diving suit, had a mind of his own. After the complete fall of Rapture, the Big Daddies still held on to their Little Sisters, still collecting ADAM. Big Sisters were still around, but not many were left. For Johnny, he was still attached to Susie, whom he met after sparring with her former protector, a Rosie. The mystery; however, of Little Sisters still being around was simple: Splicers were breeding once more. Though they became disfigured and such, their children came out the opposite. Some Splicers were maddened by this fact and killed their babies, but others exploited their children, making them Little Sisters.

And that's when Samuel came in.

For years, it was difficult. He remade Rapture, commanding Rosies to repair the many flaws of Rapture, from the cracked and worn down tunnels to the remodeling of some areas. Eventually, it all fell into place. Johnny didn't know who or where Samuel was, but he did know this: He had to get Susie out of Rapture.

* * *

_**MANHATTAN ISLAND, RED CROWN COMMAND BASE**_

Dr. McMullen pounded his fists angrily on the table, where General Randall glared at the doctor.

_"YOU DID **WHAT** WITH MERCER?!"_ Randall frowned and shook his head.

"We gave him a sedation and sent him to the bottom of the ocean, Doctor. It's what you should have done instead of keeping him like a lab rat."

"Randall, Mercer was a direct key to the cure. And without him, WE HAVE. NO. CURE." McMullen sighed bitterly and rubbed his temples. "Where did you send him?"

"Classified, Doctor. You forget that you work for us, not the other way around." Randall tapped his gloved fingers calmly on the wooden table. "What I did was out of sensibility, but what you do is out of sheer curiosity. Dangerous. Dangerous is what it is Doctor. I will not have that thing still alive while it's in my custody. I wanted it dead, and now it is."

"But water repels him out."

"Containment chamber. He'll die eventually."

What General Randall didn't tell McMullen was that not only did he put Mercer in a containment chamber, but he also injected him with the anti-virus that McMullen was still working on....The anti-virus's purpose was this: Shut down the biomass cells in Mercer's body, rendering him unconscious and unable to take action. There, a parasite would form into his useless body, feed off of him, and, using the infected cells that it just digested, create a cure.

Stage 1.) Repeated unconsciousness

Step 2.) Impairment of shifting biomass.

Step 3.) Impairment of consumption

Step 4.) Shutting down of the infected cells.

Step 5.) Coma.

Step 6.) Death.


	3. Making Friends

Splicers Sheen and Paul were carrying Mercer to Samuel, the apparent Splicer leader and supposed ruler of Rapture. An average Splicer would usually giggle with glee and self-pride, but these Splicers were....unique. They did not laugh nor gloat, but silently carried Alex Mercer to Eve's Garden, a once strip joint that was now turned into a meeting room for Samuel and his close allies. Among them were, yours truly, Sheen and Paul.

"I dun' tink Sam's in there. He might be lecturin' da utta Splicers." Paul muttered, looking down and scanning Mercer's face, which was now beaded with sweat. Sheen shrugged, his mind elsewhere. Paul's eyes narrowed and glared at him. "Are ya even listenin' ta what I'm sayin'?!"

Sheen said nothing, which infuriated Paul. Both of them said nothing until they were at the entrance to Eve's Garden, the bright red and pink neon sign was still there, since Samuel's handymen never bothered to take it down. Until now, Sheen and Paul were silent, but now, their faces spoke for them. The corner of Sheen's mouth curled into a smile, and Paul wore a full blown grin, both from the safety of their masks. Their faces illuminated in the neon lighting, giving them a devious attribute.

Oh...How this was going to be sweet.

* * *

_CLUNK, CLUNK, CLUNK...._

"Come on Mr. B! Do I have to carry you?" Susie teased, her head cocked slightly to the side. Johnny Casing jokingly hunched over and groaned, his modified voice giving a sullen tone. Johnny's voice, like all other Big Daddies, was modified. His voice box underwent serious transformation, a soft-spoken voice changed into a deep, saddened rumble of one. Johnny was an Elite Bouncer, his right arm was attached to a large drill, and his clothing was white with red stripes, the usual color of an Elite.

"Mr. B! Can you smell the ADAM?" Susie sniffed the air and giggled. "There's an angel!" She pointed past the Atrium, and to the way of Eve's Garden. "Come on daddy!" The little girl grabbed his hand and pulled it towards the way. "Let's hurry before the ADAM's all gone!"

* * *

Samuel looked over the map of Rapture, his eyes scanning the luxurious details of the whole plot of it. His fellow Splicers grouped around him, though they looked different than the others. Some looked whole-faced, as if they underwent surgery. Some of their faces looked almost normal, as if the grand amounts of splicing did not affect them in any way, shape or form. These were the best of the best, the most elite Splicers of them all...And they would all die for Samuel. Totaling 12 in all, they contained mostly of Houdini Splicers, specifically 12 (counting Sheen and Paul). 4 were Thuggish Splicers, and 8 were Leadhead Splicers.

But what they didn't know was that Samuel was not the true person making all of this happen. Oh no...He was only a pawn. Shivering, Samuel's hand skittered over the map, sections divided and labeled to 100% accuracy. Oh no...He answered to a...Higher authority.

Anutthara (or Anutt for short)...Even his name was divine. _Something beyond any answer...._ Samuel was just a mask for him, someone who could convince these dim-witted Splicers that he was the answer to everything. But no, Anutt was the one. He was the answer to everything. Samuel was very, very good at convincing people through his voice. Silky, smooth, and hypnotizing, his voice was only a contribution to Anutthara's plot to take over Rapture. _Let these people think we are their savior, the one that will finally give them something to live for..._

Oh, how they were so very, very wrong.

Hunched over in former trickster Sander Cohen's room, the Splicers and Samuel looked over the map, plotting points, talking about reconstruction of the most deteriorated of places. Big Daddies were going to be in mass production again, but mostly Rosies. Their durable armor and their unique construction skills being most helpful. They would need some participating citizens that would be willing to be transformed into Rosies.

And Samuel had plenty of those.

As for the Little Sisters...Anutthara did not mind the Little Sisters. In fact, he didn't seem to care about ADAM, nor the Gene Tonics or the Plasmids. But even at this, he did not prefer to have it around. _ADAM was the one that caused the downfall of Rapture,_ Anutt said. _But we need something to live for, and ADAM may well be the key...We just have to work our way around it._ Samuel sighed, pondering the fact of the Big Sisters. They didn't really need the Big Sisters, but once the Little Sisters grew up, they would have to be used in some way...Big Sisters were not the way, of course. If needed, he would use the grown up Little Sisters for testing. New Plasmids, perhaps....Yes.

Rapture will rise again...

* * *

Johnny Casing groaned terribly as Susie guided the way, the smell of ADAM strong in her nostrils.

"I can smell the angel daddy, it's getting nearer."

Obediently, the Bouncer followed, the glow of the neon signs made their faces glow.

But someone was already there.

* * *

Sheen and Paul laid Alex down next to a corpse, trying to open the door to Eve's Garden.

"Dangit! The door's locked!" Paul growled, trying to ram it in with his shoulder. Sheen shook his head and took of the rabbit's mask, wiping his brow. The corners of his mouth were cut into a Chelsea grin, his right eye was red; Iris, pupil and all. Black hair matted his forehead, but was swept aside when he wiped it. His skin was very pale, due to the lack of sunlight. Paul didn't take off his mask. It was personal for him, for he thought he was too ugly to take it off.

"We shouldn't disturb them Paul, maybe they're making reconstruction."

"But why would 'dey hide it from us? We're one o' da 24." Paul sighed and rubbed his temples. Both men were oblivious to little Susie stepping over to a corpse next to Alex Mercer's unconscious body. Johnny stared at Susie, then looked at the two Houdini Splicers. Immediately, he went into defensive mode, hovering close to the little girl as she knelt down, needle in hand, and began to stab it into the corpse's body. As he looked at Susie, his gaze went to the body next to Susie, a strange man he never seen before. He wasn't spliced like all the others, he still had his looks.

But they sure didn't show. The man's face was pale and clammy. His whole body shook, and sometimes a slight spasm took over. Susie hummed and stopped, standing up to drink the blood. Her gulping had broke the attention of Sheen and Paul, and both of them turned to see a Little Sister and her protector.

"...It's a Little Sister." Paul said, sneering through his mask. Sheen looked at him and shook his head.

"Paul...please. We came here to deliver the body, not t-"

_"SHUT UP! I WANT ADAM AN' I'LL GIT ADAM_...From her." Paul pointed evilly to the Little Sister, whose smile instantly changed into a frown.

"Mister B...." Susie whimpered, backing away. Johnny raised up his drill and emitted an animalistic growl, pointing to the two Houdini Splicers.

Alex Mercer groaned and sat up. He shook all over, and realized that he was in the middle of a commotion. _What's happening to me?_ He thought. Susie looked at Alex from behind Johnny's leg. She was curious to know who he was. He didn't have any ADAM; No light glowing from his tummy nor were there angel wings on him. The Big Daddy grabbed Susie and pulled her onto his shoulders. With a growl, he started the drill, the thing made a noisy whirring sound as it was pointed to Sheen and Paul. Alex stood up, wiping his face with the back of his hand. "This can't be happening." He said, backing away from the Bouncer, Susie, and the two Houdini Splicers.

Paul grinned as he conjured up flame from his hands. A special power, thanks to the Incinerate! Plasmid. "Sheen, are ya just gonna stand dere o' am I gonna 'ave to do dis myself?" Sheen frowned and grabbed Paul by the shoulders and shook him.

"Paul, we can't do this, she's just a-"

"Little girl? _So what Sheen?_" Paul viciously shook off Sheen and pushed him back. Sheen cried out as his shirt caught aflame and patted them out. "The other Splicers were right about you. You are too soft!" Paul turned back to the Bouncer and stepped towards him, not noticing Alex.

Johnny had other plans, however. With a booming roar, he slammed his drill down into the ground, creating tension between him and the Houdini Splicer. Paul replied by shooting out flame projectiles at him. The fire only seared the armor that the Bouncer wore. Johnny took a ramming position and charged at Paul. Paul embraced for the impact as his body made contact with the Big Daddy. Susie yelped and jumped off of Johnny as he slammed the Splicer into the doorway of Eve's Garden. Sheen stood there and watched as the two fought inside of Eve's Garden, hearing Paul's taunts and Johnny's roars of fury.

Susie whimpered and looked at her protector fighting off the Splicer. Alex looked as well, his pained face was curious. "What is that thing?" He whispered to himself, but Susie heard this and whipped around.

"He's my daddy!" She said with pride. "And he's fighting off the bad man!" Smiling, Alex sat down on the floor and looked at the little girl. "He's your daddy, huh? What do you do all day with your daddy?" Johnny roared as he drove his drill through Paul's hand, blood splattering all over the Houdini Splicer.

"We collect ADAM from the angels." She said sweetly, hopping up and down. Sheen looked over to Alex and Susie, then to the Bouncer and Paul.

So far, Paul wasn't getting the upper hand.

Alex furrowed his brow. There it was again. ADAM. "...What's your name?"

"Susie!" Susie said, giggling. Alex nodded.

"Susie...Nice to meet you. My name is Alex." He held out his hand, but Susie frowned.

"I don't know..." She said quietly. "You're not like them." Susie pointed to Sheen, who looked away.

"I came from up there," Alex pointed to the ceiling, but Susie knew he was going beyond that. "The surface." Susie's eyes glowed more, bright, yellow, and big and filled with glee.

"Really?! What's it like?"

Paul cried out in pain as the large drill ran through his torso, the blood splashing all over Johnny's helmet. Sheen cringed at the sound of the drill making contact with flesh and bone, but did not have any sympathy for the foolish man.

"Well, we have land there. And there are trees, lots of them." Alex scratched his head. "There are a lot of cities, and a lot more places to go than down here, that's for sure." His eyes scanned over Susie. Her filthy face, feet and attire gave her a sympathetic look, but overall, she still wore a smile on her face, and it became even bigger when Alex stared at the long needle she was carrying.

"Whatcha looking at?" Susie held the needle up for Alex to examine. "This?"

"Yeah...Why do you carry that?"

"So I can collect the ADAM from the angels!"

Again, Alex was confused. "What's ADAM?" Susie paused and thought hard about it, but she shook her head.

"...Do you want some?" She asked, grabbing Mercer's left hand. "It's good!" He hesitated, asking himself if she should do this. A moment passed before Alex nodded, and he rolled his sleeve up. Susie held the needle above a vein and injected the ADAM into him. Immediately, he felt a rush of energy flow through him. The pain that afflicted him was gone. Blinking, Susie stared at Alex, who smiled at the little girl.

"I feel...Better now. Thank you." He stood up and brushed himself off, and held out his hand once more. Susie took his hand and shook it. Sheen smiled at the small moment, but his expression changed as he looked over at the entrance. Johnny stumbled out, his armor and suit scorched and bloodied, but he was fine nevertheless. He looked on intently as the Bouncer growled and stomped over to Alex. Susie shook her head just as Johnny was about to push him aside.

"Mister Bubbles, no! He's good! He won't hurt me!" Johnny growled and looked to Sheen. Susie looked at the Houdini Splicer and frowned.

"Is he a good guy?" She whispered to Alex. He shrugged in response.

"Dunno."

Sheen stepped over and put his rabbit mask back on, bowing slightly. "You may call me a good guy...Though I really wouldn't classify myself as one. Now, if I may," He pointed to Mercer. "I would like to take you back to Samuel. He would be interested in you..." Sheen's eyes scanned over Mercer. "Yes...He would be very much. Looks like he's not here, however. No worries. I can contact him via telepathy."

Alex looked at Susie and the Bouncer. Susie glanced at Sheen. "Can we come with him?" Johnny groaned in rejection to this, but she glared at him. "Mister B! I wanna go with him!" He stood there for a moment, silent, but then nodded. Susie's face lit up once more. "Yaaay!" She clung to Alex and giggled. "We'll have so much fun together! You and Mister Bubbles will be great friends!" His eyes shifted from Susie's neat brown hair to the glaring yellow lights of Johnny Casing.

Somehow, even though you couldn't really tell, Alex knew the thing was giving him a death stare.

That couldn't be good.

And with that, Susie, Johnny and Alex followed in Sheen's lead.


	4. Making Enemies

Alex and Susie continued to converse with each other. As this droned on, Johnny Casing, the Big Daddy programmed to protect her, grew very annoyed by this.

"What do you guys eat on the Surface?" The Little Sister asked with glee.

Alex smiled and responded, "Well, what do you eat?" Susie frowned and thought for a moment.

"Chips...Creme-filled cakes, uh..." As she tried to remember what other foods she ate, he shook his head.

"Do you eat anything healthy?"

Sheen cut in and said, "After the fall of Rapture, it's been hard to find a good food supply. We eat what we can find. Splicers are desperate for anything... Some will even eat each other to survive. That's when Samuel came in. He decided to plant gardens of all sorts in Arcadia, and not to mention fruit bearing trees. He's really doing this city some good..." After that, Sheen held two fingers; One on each temple. The Houdini Splicer closed his eyes and tried to contact Samuel, to tell him of the newcomer....

* * *

Samuel's Splicers left, but only one remained with him, and that was Matthew, a Thug Splicer. Donned in ragged robes and a hood over his head, Matthew was the only one who was the most disfigured. His face was a mess; Cuts and bruises everywhere. Stitches lined from the corner of his ear to the lobe of his left ear. Bags complimented his eyes, along with his bloodshot eyes. His hood hid the different types of hair he had. Blonde hair, red hair, brown hair, black hair, and any other type of hair you could imagine was attached to his scalp.

A long, ugly scar started from the bridge of his nose and traveled up to the left temple, and forever more, the supposed untouched right corner of his mouth was tampered, a partial Chelsea grin started from there and stopped at the cheekbone. Samuel found the man in an operation room, screaming wildly in pain after a crazed surgeon performed his version of an operation on poor Matthew. After cleaning him up and putting fresh clothes on him, Samuel told the man of his cause, and persuaded him to join in it. Eyes gleaming with a newfound hope, Matthew was more than eager to join.

"Something wrong, Master Samuel?" Matthew calmly said as he glanced at Samuel, who was closing his eyes and putting his fingers on his temples.

"No...It's just Sheen." Matthew turned his nose up and looked away.

_"Is there something wrong Sheen?"_ Samuel thought, using his trusty Telepathy Plasmid to respond to the other Splicer's message.

_"No...Well, you might say that."_ Sheen responded.

Furrowing his eyebrows, he thought, _"Tell me."_

_"There has been a...disturbance in Rapture."_

_"A disturbance?"_

_"Yes, a newcomer. He's from the Surface, obviously, name's Alex Mercer."_

_"Alex Mercer? Sounds dangerous."_

_"Actually, no. He's sick, but he still looks intimidating. There's also a Little Sister and a Bouncer with him."_

Samuel's eyes gleamed. _"A Little Sister? And a Big Daddy? Are they attacking each other?"_

_"No, in fact they're totally in bond with each other. The Little Sister seems to like Mercer."_

_"Oh really? He might be of some use after all. I cannot meet up with you now, I have errands to run. In the meantime, I'll bring Matthew down to escort you to Arcadia."_

There was a long silence before Sheen thought,_ "Fine."  
_

Samuel turned to Matthew and smiled. "Can you escort Sheen and his new friends to Arcadia? I'll join you there soon, but for now you have to tag along with them." Matthew looked at Samuel and narrowed his eyes, clearly disapproving of having to join Sheen. Despite this, he nodded. Samuel closed his eyes, as if he was thinking of something. "They're nearing the Bathysphere rooms. Hurry up to them." With a quick turn of the heel, the Leadhead Splicer turned and walked.

* * *

Sheen and the others stood there, waiting for Matthew.

"When is he coming?" Alex said, eyes meeting the Houdini Splicer's.

"He'll be here soon. Transportation is state of the art here in Rapture."

"You forget it's 2009."

Sheen didn't respond. Instead, he looked at Susie, who was playing Pattycake with Johnny. Alex raised his brows and smiled triumphantly.

"Just wait. You should go to the surface and see what they have. They have computers-"

"We have those."

"Internet?"

"...No."

"Thought so." Alex muttered, rubbing his eyes. They felt a bit swollen, and his vision started to blur again. _Must be tired..._

A Splicer popped his head into the Bathysphere room, frowning. Alex and Susie and Johnny turned around to see a scarred man, dressed in a cloak. The Big Daddy growled, standing in front of the little girl. Sheen shook his head and tapped Johnny on the shoulder. "It's alright. He's with us." The man looked at Sheen and gave an annoyed look.

"Sheen..."

"Matthew..."

The two Splicers looked at each other for a long, hard moment, but Susie broke the silence.

"Daddy look!" She pointed to Matthew. "There's a light in his belly!" Johnny groaned and looked at Matthew. Sheen blinked and glanced at Alex, who was again rubbing his eyes. Matthew looked at Alex.

"Is this the newcomer?" He grunted, eyes scanning the man. Sheen nodded and looked to him.

"Uh-yes, my name is Alex Mercer." Alex said gruffly. "And I guess you two are friends...?

"Far from it." Matthew said coldly. "Let's just climb into the Bathyspheres and make our way to Arcadia." He turned to the Big Daddy. "You'll have to enter one alone. There's no room for 4 people and a Big Daddy." Of course, Johnny objected to this, but Mercer stepped in.

"If you bring Susie in with you, she'll be crushed. Don't worry, we won't hurt her." Susie looked at her Big Daddy and scurried to Alex, clinging to his leg.

"Are you gonna protect me from the monsters?" She whispered, looking at the Splicers. Alex nodded.

"And if they lay a finger on you I'll beat them up, how's that?" Susie giggled and nodded, but Johnny was thinking otherwise. He growled at Alex and turned his back on him. Matthew rolled his eyes and clambered into the Bathysphere.

"Climb in. Big Daddy will just have to wait until the next one arrives." Alex, Susie and Sheen both climbed into the Bathysphere. It was crowded, their shoulders touched the others, and Susie forced to stand in front so that there would be enough space for her. She waved to Johnny and grinned.

"Bye Daddy! See you later!" Johnny waved a bellowed out a groan. The Bathysphere closed and started to take off, transporting them to Arcadia. Johnny waited for the next Bathysphere to arrive.

_I just hope she's alright..._


	5. Something's Not Right

**A/N: Cheers to the 5th chapter of Under Rapture's Grip. I don't remember the layout of Rapture very well, so please pardon me if I get some areas wrong. R/R.**

Alex yawned and rubbed his eyes. He started to feel groggy all of a sudden. _Is it coming back...?_ Susie looked up, feeling his worry.

"Mr. Alex...Are you okay?" She asked while poking him with the syringe. Sheen looked at Alex and patted him on the back. "You're starting to feel sweaty again. What's happening to you?"

Alex slowly began to huff; breathing became more harder for him all of a sudden. "I...I dunno..." His vision started to get blurry, and his knees grew wobbly. Matthew grabbed Mercer and supported him, seeing as the man was about to collapse underneath himself. "...What's happening to me?"

Matthew frowned and stared at Sheen, who mouthed, _"He's sick." _Alex groaned and stood up, pushing away the Leadhead Splicer.

"I-I'm fine, really..."

"No you're not. You're breaking out into a sweat. Just look at you..."

Alex began to protest but was halted by a spasm of pain in his gut. It was newfound, and it burned like a hot coal was being forced down his artificial stomach. Susie looked on in shock as the man screamed in pain. The two Splicers had to help Alex up as his legs gave out. As the Bathysphere neared Arcadia, time was spent taking care of Mercer, blotting away the sweat and calming him down. Susie occasionally turned around to see Alex, then back out the ocean, and then at Alex again. Finally working up the courage, she stepped towards him in the small space and hugged his leg.

"Mr. Alex...Please be okay." Sheen looked down at Susie and smiled.

"Hey now, it'll be alright, he's going to be fine." Matthew looked at Sheen disapprovingly, but the Houdini Splicer ignored his look and continued to reassure Susie.

Some time after, they arrived in Arcadia. The four were greeted by a lush garden, separated by two little bridges, and one doorway leading to another area. Alex looked up and smiled, eager to see green under all of the blue. Susie giggled and ran, her little feet collecting little drops of water that collected from the grass.

"Mister Alex, Mister Alex!"

"Yeah yeah....I see it all." He muttered, beads of sweat collected on his forehead as he looked on. The Little Sister plucked a flower from the earth and brought it over to Alex, who took it and put it in the breast pocket of his jacket. "Thank you," He said with a slight bow. Susie bowed as well in response and proceeded to follow he older men. Sheen walked over the bridge and opened the door that lead to another garden, but this one was smaller. Another little garden was on the upper floor; The staircase was in front of them. Sheen sighed, breathing in the pure nostalgia.

"I remember my first time here..."

"Oh, I'm sure you do," Matthew said bitterly.

Mercer chimed in. "What's this place, anyway?"

Sheen replied, "Arcadia is a spot where-"

"People have sex." Matthew said bluntly. Susie's eyes widened in both curiosity and in fear.

"Matthew!"

"What? Just putting it like it is." Alex then instinctively smacked the Leadhead (for he really was) Splicer in the head. Matthew yelped and glared at him. "I hope you die from what you're suffering from." Susie shrieked and clung to Alex.

"No!" Alex comforted the little girl and scooped her into his arms. She quieted down after some time, and before long, both him and her heard the sound of pounding footsteps and the long, droned groan. Sheen turned his back to the entrance as Johnny Casing came and stared at Susie in Mercer's arms. Susie grinned and climbed down the man's body and ran to her protector.

"Daddy! I knew you'd come!" She pointed to Alex, who smiled at Johnny with discomfort. "See? He protected me!" Johnny had his portholes locked on Mercer, who felt the spasm of pain coming back.

"I- don't feel too good..." He groaned, getting on his hands and knees in the wet grass and resisting the urge not to vomit; His vision was nil, everything was black, and all he could see was with the use of his ears.

_Footsteps...Booming ones. That big guy...Oh God...._ And then, an inner overpowering force pushed whatever was in his stomach and forced it out of his mouth.

"Mr. Alex!"

"Oh, God...Ew."

"What is that stuff?"

The matter poured out like a fountain, and whatever it was, it wasn't pretty from what he heard. A very rancid taste reached the back of his throat, which made him vomit even more. Completely blind, Alex was scared. He didn't know if he was going to black out, die, or what. Then the answer came to him. He was knocked unconscious. _WHACK!_ A blow to the head hit his cranium and, before he knew it, he was face first in his own vomit.

* * *

Sheen looked away in distaste as he witnessed Alex Mercer get hit in the head with the drill Johnny had on his arm. A sickening _splat!_, and the man fell in the black and red matter that came out of his mouth.

"Disgusting." The Houdini Splicer muttered, nose turned up. Susie looked at Johnny in horror and hid behind his leg. With a booming groan, the Bouncer pointed to Matthew, who looked at him in disbelief. "What....?"

Johnny pointed to Alex.

"Oh, you've got to b-"

_Eeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrgggghhhhhhhh....._

"I AM _NOT_ CARRYING HIM!" Matthew put his hands on his hips and glared at him. "For him to puke all over me?" Without warning, Johnny grabbed Alex by his jacket and pushed him into Matthew. Reluctantly, the Splicer grabbed the unconscious man and carried him in his arms. "If he pukes on me, you are so dead." Johnny shrugged and the team carried on, walking through the lush gardens. Sheen took one last glance at the pool of vomit; It was...strangely black...And what was more strange was that it had red streaks in it. _He's not even human,_ He thought, turning away and following the others. _What do I do about him...?_ Time after time, Mercer spasmed and threw up more of the nasty bile. Susie shrieked a bit and clung to Matthew.

"Is he gonna be okay...?" She would ask. Matthew shook his head, not grasping an answer. At last they came to a big field; Green trees surrounded the area, with small and dainty flowers complementing the healthy green environment. Matthew laid Alex on the ground; He was breaking out into a cold sweat, skin pale, and breathing shallow. Sheen shook his head and knelt down beside Matthew. "Just who is he?" Matthew growled. "Where did he even come from?"

"Some sort of container," Sheen replied. "It wasn't a Bathysphere, but it was big enough to travel to the entrance. I just don't know..." He looked at Susie. She was far off, Johnny right next to her as she extracted ADAM from a corpse. "But I do know this: He's not human." Matthew blinked and looked at Sheen in confusion, but then nodded as he pointed out the vomit that stained Mercer's clothing. "It's black. Noone has black vomit. And look," He pointed again, a red streak was in the vomit. "It's red, too. Noone has red specks in their puke."

"Unless it's blood." Matthew protested.

"This isn't blood, Matthew. I thought you were smarter than that, considering you came to know what blood looks like." Automatically, the Leadhead Splicer touched a finger to the half Chelsea grin that carved part of his face. "Like I said, whatever he is, he's not human. He's...something else." Small and big footsteps were heading their way, and both Splicers stood up, looking at Susie.

"More light from the Angels!" She cried out, stopping at Mercer's body and kneeling. "Maybe it will help him!" Susie eagerly stuck the needle into his neck, her big yellow eyes lighting up as the body twitched.

* * *

Samuel emerged from the Bathysphere that had traveled to Arcadia, feeling confident in this newcomer. After talking to Anutthara, he was wholly convinced that the newcomer would mean no harm, and, after some heavy persuading, that he would join their cause in "helping" Rapture. It would mean another member for Anutt's beloved plan, and one step closer to domination.

Dressed in a white cotton shirt, tucked in with a brown vest to match and brown trousers, Samuel made his way through Arcadia, suspecting that Matthew, Sheen, the Little Sister, the Big Daddy, and the newcomer would be in the field. He brushed his thick, untidy brown hair back and smiled confidently. "Today may be the day..." He said smoothly.

He opened the big doors that led to the field and was greeted by what he suspected. Sheen and Matthew, leaning against a tree and conversing with one another, the Little Sister and the Big Daddy, chasing each other around the field, and the newcomer; Alex Mercer, who looked dazed and confused, but stood up and brushed off what seemed to be black spots on his strange clothing. Finally, Alex looked up and saw Samuel. Instantly, brown eyes met blue eyes, and for the first time in what seemed to be days, Samuel felt something in his gut that told him something about the man that stood just mere feet away.

Severe distaste in the man. Something wasn't right about him....

* * *

Alex was just recovering from his state of unconsciousness. He still had the feeling that he was going to retch, but it wasn't as strong as it previously was. Looking up, he met the eyes of a man who had just walked into the field. Brown hair that was very messy, and a sad attempt to brush it back proved futile. A white shirt was tucked into his black belt, and a brown vest was worn over it. The man wore brown trousers and -you guessed it- brown shoes. Well, they were more like loafers than anything. His eyes locked those brown ones, and Mercer knew that he felt that something was wrong about him. Too smug? Too...Mischievous? What was it?

The man stepped forward and bowed slightly.

"You must be Alex Mercer. Sheen told me all about you. Excuse me for my manner for popping in so soon, but allow me to introduce myself," The man straightened his back and held out his hand. "My name is Samuel, and it is a most pleasure to meet you..." Alex looked at the hand, and then at the man who called himself Samuel. Hesitantly and reluctantly, he took the hand in his and shook it.

"Nice to meet you too," Alex said, his tired eyes now alert. Somehow he knew...That there was something wrong about him.

Something....mysterious.


	6. What's He Like On The Inside?

Alex Mercer and Samuel looked at each other for a long and intense moment. Both of them could sense that the other was strange in their own little way, and frankly, it was unnerving. However, Samuel frowned and pointed to his face.

"You have something..."

"What?" Alex asked, eyes squinting at him. Finally, he realized that he had something on his face and proceeded to wipe it off. Black matter appeared on his fingers, and he frowned. "What happened...?" Samuel looked as well, a worried look appeared on his face.

"Oh my...What exactly happened to you? Are you sick or something?" Shaking his head, the man shrugged in response. "Wipe it all off, you still have more on your face. Looks like you fell face first in whatever you fell into." Alex nodded and wiped his face off with his sleeve. More of the black stuff appeared on it, but it also came with a hint of red in some of it. _This...Can't be good._ _God, what's happening to me? _

A sour taste built up in his mouth, and it wasn't the rancid vomit taste that was still stuck in his throat.

Samuel looked past Mercer to Sheen and Matthew. The two were talking, but their voices couldn't be heard from such a distance. He looked away from the two and looked at the Little Sister and Big Daddy. The little girl was chasing her protector all over the field, giggling as the big metal man ran playfully away from her. Samuel smiled at the image, but then turned to Sheen and Matthew. He walked over to them and stopped as he heard something from Sheen that caught his ear.

"...He's not human, you know that." The Houdini Splicer growled.

"Maybe, but he can be of some use to us!" Matthew hissed. "There may be an...Issue with him, but-" He stopped as his eyes caught a quick glance at Samuel who was listening to the conversation. "I'll say no more...." He coughed into his sleeve and looked at Samuel and beckoned him over. "Master, please?" Samuel smiled and walked closer, patting him on the back.

"So...From what I heard, Sheen has an, oh...what's the word?"

"An assumption," Sheen said sternly. "Alex Mercer isn't human. That black stuff you saw on his face, it's his vomit. He started to puke when he arrived in Arcadia." Samuel nodded as Sheen went on, explaining how Mercer grew shaky and clammy when he delved into unconsciousness. ADAM, it seemed, happened to null the effects, but for some time.

"...ADAM, comes from the underwater sea slugs, yes?"

Sheen nodded.

"Unstable stem cells....possibly, they overcome the sickness in him, but only for a short time. I wonder why...?" Both Splicers looked at him for a moment. "We need to look deeper inside of him. Instead of taking him...We need to isolate him. Keep him, take some of his blood, saliva, etc. Let's see what makes this guy tick..." Sheen frowned and took off his mask, the Chelsea grin provided no smile for the frown that was splayed over his face.

"But master...He's not human but..."

"But what? You said it yourself. Not human. I want to know what he-or, rather, _it_ is."

Susie giggled as she pulled Alex into the fray. "Come on, Mr. Alex! Play with us." Alex chuckled and picked her up and swung her around, her shriek of joy bouncing off the walls. Johnny groaned and big, booming footsteps were heard before Mercer uttered a cry.

"W-woah! Hey! HEY!"

"_NNNRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHH...._" Johnny had picked up Alex Mercer by the legs and swung him around, and Susie was being spun by Alex. The group swing continued as the trio standing behind the tree continued to talk.

"But look at him," Sheen protested. "Not human, but acts just like one."

Samuel frowned. "I don't care. I want to see what's inside of him. And I know just the person, too..." Sheen and Matthew exchanged worried looks. Though their master was a bit strange sometimes, it wasn't like this. He was...Obsessed. He wanted to cut Mercer open and just marvel at what his insides look like. Matthew stepped away and coughed into his sleeve again. Samuel looked up and frowned.

"Matthew...are you getting sick?" He asked. The Leadhead Splicer nodded.

"You could say that...I haven't been feeling well for the past few days. Must have been all that splicing I did..."

"Wait, wait. You're still splicing?" Sheen looked at Samuel, clearly annoyed by this. "You know you can't splice anymore. Do you know what that does to you?"

"Judging from your face...yeah, I know." A sharp _crack!_ came from the slap that Sheen had delivered Matthew. Matthew stood silent for a moment, and then turned his head slowly to look at the Houdini Splicer. He worked his jaw around before a gob of red spit came smacked onto Sheen's face. Samuel grabbed Matthew by the shoulders and shook him roughly.

"Stop! You know I don't tolerate this!"

"Yeah, just I can't tolerate you and your sick obsession with the new kid." He scoffed, shoving Samuel's hand away and coughing once more into his sleeve. "I'm out, and I'm bringing them three with me." Ignoring Samuel's angry retorts, he walked over to Mercer, Johnny and Susie.

"Oi! Let's go!" Johnny stopped swinging Alex and looked at Matthew. Alex slid to the ground, as well as Susie.

"What?" Alex said, blinking. Susie frowned and looked to her Big Daddy.

"_He,_" Matthew pointed to Samuel, "Wants to cut _you_ open." Then he pointed to Alex. "I'm not going to let that happen. Come on, Mercer, Little Sister, Big Daddy. We're going."

"Where Mister?" Susie said quietly. Matthew shrugged.

"Dunno, but away from here." Then, a blast of fire roared past him, singing the left side of his cloak, and setting a tree mere feet away from Susie on fire.

"I'm sorry....I can't let that happen." Samuel said, his hands literally frozen to the core, and Sheen's roaring with fire. "I need you, Mercer. I want to see what makes you tick, and I'm going to get that. One way...Or another." Matthew growled and turned around, a burst of electricity surged out from his right hand. Alex blinked, and saw that this was a good time to transform, but before he could, Matthew whipped his head back to Mercer.

"Go!" He shouted. "I'll hold them off! Just find a way...Just find a way to get out of Rapture!" Matthew hacked and coughed, spitting out another gob of blood. Susie clambered onto her Big Daddy's shoulder and whimpered. Alex backed away and nodded, looking to Johnny and the little girl. "Come on..." He said. Johnny roared and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and lifted him onto his left shoulder. Mercer held on tight as the Bouncer ran out of the field and into a door, going into another part of the area. Susie grabbed Alex's hand and looked at him as they heard the sound of fighting. Alex looked at her and smiled reassuringly, squeezing her hand. Johnny groaned and drilled down the bushels, advancing to wherever they eventually would stumble upon...


	7. Betrayal

Alex, Susie, and Johnny trudged through the small fields of Arcadia, each of their looks sullen and worried; Susie's hand was still being gripped by Mercer. Johnny's steps were loud, but soft in sound. His mind was on something else; Susie and Alex. He needed to protect them, even though he only met the other man a few hours ago. Johnny needed to protect him, and, though he disliked the man at first, he grew to like him. Alex Mercer didn't mean any harm, especially to Susie. In fact, he was very nice and sweet to her, like a...

Father...

His thoughts halted. _Like a father... Better than...Better than me?_ He frowned in his thinking, _Susie has me, but he...He has her as well. He needs Susie...Without her, he's going to get sick again, then die._ Johnny heard a light tapping noise on his helmet, and he turned his head to the left. Alex smiled and said, "Hey, why'd you stop?" The Big Daddy slightly tilted his head. "You stopped walking." A groaning sound emitted from the helmet, and the Bouncer trudged on. Alex sighed and looked at Susie, who was resting her head against the metal suit.

"Daddy...I wanna go home."

_I do too, sweetie...I do too._

Matthew was fighting against his former master and his old enemy. Fire and ice washed over electricity, trees were burned and bushels were frozen as the three fought. He was no match for the Houdini Splicer and Samuel, although he was very agile. Because of the excess splicing that Matthew was still doing, his organs were shutting down slowly, the ADAM overwhelming the vital ones. It was only a matter of time...But before that, he had to get the little girl and Alex Mercer out of Rapture. And fast.

"I know what you've been up to, Samuel!" Matthew shouted, tears streaming down his face as he grabbed an EVE hypo from a small pouch from his coat and stuck the needle in his wrist. "You and Anutthara!" Samuel stopped dead in his tracks as anger ran through his face.

* * *

(Flashback)

Anutthara was a slender man, about the age of 37. His hair was in a neat array of braids, and one or two colored beads stopped at the end of each. His skin was soft and tan, his eyes were a piercing sky blue, and his lips were thin and almost always curled into a smile. He sat there patiently, his fingers tapping on the wooden table that glowed dimly in the light of the Eve's Garden sign. Samuel looked at Anutthara animatedly, and said, "What's our next plan of action, master?"

Anutthara smiled and looked at the table, his mouth slightly open, as if thinking about every word he was going to say. "Our next plan...We need to round up every Splicer in this godforsaken city and convert them...We need an army if this dream is supposed to come true. We also need to create a plasmid that can control the minds of mass people, instead of just a single person." Samuel nodded, and thought about creating plasmids. They seemed dangerous enough, but it looked so....much...fun....

"If we can create a plasmid that can do that, and make the duration of the mind control as long as we could choose; We'd make an unstoppable army! And since the Surface Dwellers don't know of our existence, we can do this in secret." His smooth voice trembled a bit at this thought, fearing of any mistake that would make Rapture known to the people on the Surface. Samuel looked at him reassuringly.

"Do not worry, master. We will make this dream come true."

"I am afraid of any margin of error."

"Do not be. It's a secret to the Surface. They do not know about it." Anutthara calmed and smiled.

"Yes, you're right. Now....If there is enough people in Rapture to start a small or even a large army, then we will be more than ready to make the preparations."

"Yes-Wait, what about the other bases, the ones _on_ the Surface?" Anutt's face grew serious as Samuel said this.

"We have the technology to keep in contact with them. I just talked with our brother base in Toronto. They are doing fine, and the Italy Base is doing fine, as well. They are waiting for our final command, and then, once we ship the Mass Mind Control Plasmid, we can take over the minds of the people, and then..."

"We overwhelm every government in the country."

"It will be a most delicious victory," He said, reveling in the thought. "And everyone will be united as one. No more war..."

"No more famine," Samuel said.

"No more race wars...Only peace." Anutthara sighed and leaned back in his chair, relaxing. "It will be the most perfect plan..."

Far, far into the corner, Matthew watched in intent, a fire built up in his stomach. _So...They want to take over the world via mind control..._ He thought. _I-I can't... I can't let this happen...._

* * *

Sheen stopped and stared at Samuel. Matthew smiled and looked at the Splicer's surprised face. "Can't you see, Sheen? He's just some puppet on a string, he's just being used, and so are you...." He paused, looking at the realization sink into the man's face. "And so was I, but after that, I wanted to leave, but where? There is nowhere to go in Rapture. Noone can hear you scream..." Sheen looked at Samuel, who slowly turned his head to him.

"Don't believe him, Sheen. I am the true person that will bring Rapture back together."

"IT'S NOT TRUE-"

_"SILENCE!"_ Samuel shrieked, his hand instantly changing from ice cold to bursting with electricity. He sent a string of it towards Matthew, who, by the time he caught sight of it, cried out surprise. The crackling light shot into his body and rendered it limp. The Leadhead Splicer crumpled to the grassy floor, his eyes still on Sheen before they closed. Sheen knew that Matthew was still alive, but unconscious. The ADAM that pumped through his already failing body would keep him alive, but only for so long until the ADAM itself would shut down all the organs in his body. It was a horrible thought, and as much as Sheen hated the man, he needed- no, he _wanted_ to save Matthew.

"Sheen, please, what he said, it's not true." The Splicer looked up at Samuel and shook his head.

"If it was, then you wouldn't have attacked Matthew. I-I shouldn't have attacked him, either."

"Oh, but you hated him so much. I know what happened between you two. The plasmids, the addiction...The ADAM. It ruined both of you; He was easily subdued by it, and then taken advantage of; Turned into a picture of pure art in the eyes of a surgeon. And then you...You Sheen, you mutilated yourself. "Gone in a rage," As the Splicers said you did, and carved the infamous Chelsea Grin at the corners of your mouth. And then, the unthinkable happened...." Sheen closed his eyes and opened them slowly, staring back at Samuel with a calm as the man went on. "Matthew was back, but he still wanted to splice. I stopped him later, but I knew he still did it, every Splicer does it in secret; They just can't help themselves. He knew that you had a sister, a Little Sister, in fact..." Samuel walked around and took a deep breath, lightly kicking Matthew's unconscious body before stepping over it.

"...He wanted more ADAM, more Plasmids, more power. So, he went for your sister."

"Stop." Sheen said.

"He grabbed her..."

_"Stop." _

"She screamed..."

"Stop!"

"He didn't care..."

_"STOP!"_

"And then he harvested her." Samuel smiled in satisfaction as tears rolled down the Houdini Splicer's cheeks. "Oh, so you do have a breaking point!" He chuckled and switched his plasmid to another one. His hand grew white, and a pure mist formed around it. "Well, now...Let's see if we can get into that brain of yours..." But he was already on the move. He switched to the Winter Blast plasmid and froze Samuel, the smirk on the man's face still, there, frozen, as Sheen carried Matthew and ran after the Big Daddy.

"Hold on, Matt, I'm gonna help you..." He tried to keep a grip on himself, but it was no use. The tears bombarded his eyes like a surprise attack on an unsuspecting enemy. They escaped and trickled down his cheeks as Sheen ran after the Big Daddy. Little whispers of "I'm sorry" and, "I shouldn't forgive you, but..." escaped his lips as his feet worked at their full potential, running past the beautiful flowers and the overgrown trees that provided oxygen to Rapture.

"Just...Hang on, Matt."


	8. Forgiveness and Escape

**A/N: Coming close to the end of the crossover. It will probably end in the next chapter or the one after that. I'll set off a small afterword when the end comes.**

Susie looked at Alex over her protector's big metal helmet. "Mister Alex...You don't look good." Indeed, he wasn't. The parasite that was inside of him grew immune to the amount of ADAM that had already been injected into him, and now it was stronger. It rendered his biomass useless, unable to shift it into weapons. It also prevented the biomass from absorbing any organic material, thus Alex could not consume anything. Sadly, he didn't know it, but he could feel something growing inside of him, and it felt horrible. Mercer's skin was pale once more, and his eyes heavily lidded. His veins were visible through his skin, and a black substance began to trickle out of the corner of his mouth.

Johnny felt the man slipping from his shoulder, and grabbed him at the last minute. Then, as he pulled the sickened Mercer to his shoulders once more, he heard the sound of footsteps.

"H-Hey! Hey!" Sheen cried out as he spotted the Big Daddy. Johnny whipped himself around to see the Houdini Splicer. _"Urrrrrrrgh..."_ He gently grabbed Susie and set her down on the grass, but still kept Mercer on his shoulder, since he was obviously too weak to support himself. Sheen stopped in front of him and set Matthew down on the ground.

"Samuel...He got to Matt. He's not going to last long, but-"

"But..." Matthew said slowly, his eyes opening. "I can tell you how to get out of here." Sheen looked down and knelt at his side. The Leadhead Splicer's face was pale and pained, but through it all, his eyes were still gleaming with life. "Samuel is working with the master of their plan. His name is Anutthara. He doesn't show his face, but I know where he hides out at....He lives in the Mercury Suites, but they've remodeled it to be the heart of their plans. They've also closed it all off from the other Splicers, so noone would know about it..." He paused for a moment, looking at Sheen. Sheen nodded and motioned him to continue.

"They plan to make some sort of...mind control plasmid, but on a larger scale. The plasmid -if they successfully make it-"

"They did," Sheen said bitterly, remembering Samuel's misty white hand. "And Samuel was planning to use it on me."

"Ah...So the plasmid is real...That doesn't make things any better...The plasmid will also have the ability to control a large mass of people, A.K.A. Splicers. The duration of the mind control depends on the choice of the person that unleashed it in the first place, and the ones that are under the effect are like pigs to the slaughter. They'll have no choice but to obey..." Matthew coughed, and a spurt of blood shot out. Sheen's eyes widened, but the Splicer shook his head. "No, Sheen. I'm already dying....The splicing, it's gotten to me," He chuckled. "I should have listened to you while I still had the chance."

"And now look at you..." Sheen replied. "One foot in the grave."

"In the watery grave...And I was hoping that I would escape from here and go up to the Surface." He sighed and continued his explanation. "Dying aside, the Mercury Suite Military Base...There's a part of it that is used as an escape room. It's large, I've been there before; Samuel introduced me to it when he thought he could trust me. It's a large room, and it's set like a bathroom; There are 20 large stalls, which contain 40 bathyspheres. If you can somehow get yourself into Mercury Suites, you have a very good chance of escaping."

"What about Anutthara?" Sheen asked. "We can't just leave him here to carry out his plans!" Matthew shook his head.

"It's too late, Sheen. It's too late...By the time you try to stop him, he'll have shipped his plasmids and EVE hypos and ADAM to every base he has on the Surface. He's an unstoppable force, and I'm afraid there's nothing you can do about it." Sheen bit his lip and shook his head.

"No, there has to be something we can do-"

"No, there's nothing that we can do...Just...Pray." Matthew sighed and shifted his gaze to the Big Daddy. Mercer was slung over the giant's left shoulder, his face also pale and pained. "What's happening to him?" The Splicer asked.

"I don't know. I was hoping there was some...significance to him, but I guess there's not. He's just a sack."

Matthew furrowed his brow. "Don't say that, Sheen. Everyone has a purpose. Even I," His hand grabbed Sheen's and squeezed it. "And even you. We've had our troubles. A lot of them. Please, Sheen, please forgive me. What I did to your sister was-"

"Unforgivable," The man snatched his hand back. Matthew's fell to the floor. "And you won't get an apology from me. Even if you _are_ on your deathbed." Tears formed in the Leadhead Splicer's eyes and traveled down his face.

"Please, Sheen, I'm so sorry. I admit I did it out of greed, out of gluttony, but I know now that I did a terrible thing," Sheen frowned as he listened. Not liking any of it but having no choice. "Please, forgive me?"

"...No." The Houdini Splicer replied, standing up. "I can't, and I won't." He looked towards the Big Daddy and motioned him away. "Go to Mercury Suites. Samuel should be thawed out by now, and he'll be looking for us. I'll hold him off, but I don't know how long." Johnny groaned in reply, and grabbed Susie and pulled her up onto his right shoulder. Sheen waited until he could neither hear nor see them before looking down at Matthew. He knelt down once more and looked into the dying man's eyes. "I should kill you, right here and now. If I had a syringe that the Little Sisters use, I would have drained all of that ADAM out of you, just like you did to my sister." Matthew looked at him before turning his head away. "But you know what? I won't. I think I'll let you suffer..."

_"As well as you, my dear Splicer."_ Said a voice.

Suddenly, a sharp, cold pain pooled at Sheen's back and stomach. The Splicer looked down to see a large icicle that was sticking out of his gut.

"Samuel...?"

"You see, the Winter Blast doesn't last as long as it should have. They could have made the effects last so, much, longer..." Withdrawing the icicle from the man's stomach, Samuel walked around, glaring at the two dying Splicers. Sheen looked up at his former friend and master angrily. "I've been around to hear that your little buddies are going to Mercury Suites. Hmmm, how sad their faces will be when they find out that their hopes will be lost." Blood pooled on Sheen's legs and stomach. His vision blurred, but not badly enough to cover the big smile that grew on Samuel's face. "That Little Sister...She'll cry out for her Big Daddy. Oh, he'll be long dead by then. The Splicers will probably harvest her, and as for Alex Mercer..." He stopped, closed his eyes, and sighed. "He'll be mine. Oh, oh, don't worry! He'll be very useful in our studies. If he proves to be something more than human, then we can use him to our advantage!"

"You won't get away with this..." Sheen growled. "They'll get to the Surface and be home free in no time." He tried to regain his balance, but it ended up being useless. His body fell limp over Matthew's, who, by the way, looked Samuel with great distaste.

"I'm sorry, Sheen, but they won't. Telepathy is a great thing, isn't it?" Samuel cooed. Matthew chuckled, looking at Sheen, and then Samuel.

"You really think, that your plan is that fool-proof?" He hissed. "You idiot! Did you ever stop to think that would be any rebellious people in Rapture? Oh, yes, yes there are. And they. Want. Blood. They didn't want a fancy, shmancy man from the Surface raiding their city, and making it 'better', they knew what you were up to, because I told them, and they told anyone else who believed them!" Matthew laughed maniacally, watching Samuel's face grow red from anger. "We devised a plan, a plan so that anyone who would try to take Rapture would never get to see it. I even went inside your little military base for our grand plan."

"You little-"

"We planted C4 all over Rapture. It took time, and it took a lot of explosives. We put them in every nook and cranny, places you won't find them in. Those Rosies you had repair the tunnels? They planted C4. The Splicer Disciples you thought you had? They were in on it, too, and they put C4 in other places as well. Every Splicer you thought you had is gone. They know what you and Anutt have been doing, and we're going to end it all, even if it costs us our lives. Oh, and, telepathy is a great thing, isn't it?" Sheen laughed, looking at Matthew.

"If everyone was in on it, then how come you didn't tell me?" He asked, his breathing hoarse.

"That was when I didn't like you."

"And now?"

"I think you're the closest friend I ever had, Sheen, even though I...killed your sister."

Sheen grabbed Matthew's hand and squeezed it. "...Thanks..." Samuel sneered and shook his head.

"You fools...Don't you know you're wasting every life here in Rapture?"

"We may be," Matthew said boldly, looking at Sheen.

"But...It's for the best." The Houdini Splicer finished off his friend's sentence.

"You may have had the upper hand for some time, Samuel, but now we're taking Rapture back. And this time, it's for good. Whatever followers you have left are currently battling the family that I've created. A new leader is in the line, now that I'm dying....God, Telepathy is very beautiful thing, isn't it?" Samuel's face was beet-red for some time, but then he calmed down and smiled.

"Anutthara has been notified. He'll take care of the matter. He is the answer to everything." And with that, he walked off. "I'll see you all in Hell."

Sheen and Matthew laid there, clinging on to the last threads of life they had.

"Matthew?" The Houdini Splicer asked.

"Call me Matt...Sheen."

"Fine, Matt, then..."

"What?" Matthew asked.

"Is it too late forgive you?" Sheen gently squeezed his hand. "Because I want to. Right now. I know that...you killed her. Killed her straight out of greed, and I still hate you for that."

"I don't mind you hating me..."

"Heh," Sheen stared at Matthew. "You don't deserve it, you really don't, but...You're saving all of Rapture and possibly the world from total domination. I respect that, I really do...And you need you be happy before you die. Matt, I forgive you for what you did."

A lump formed in his throat. He merely nodded before replying. "Yes. Yes, thank you so much...my friend." Matthew squeezed his friend's hand before the light in his eyes escaped. "It's amazing...How we came...to seek the destruction..." Sheen watched as the life drained out of his friend, the hand in his grew limp.

"...But we never came to see it..." Sheen said slowly as his vision faded to black.

* * *

Susie whimpered as she and Mercer were wedged into the Bathysphere with Johnny Casing. Alex shuddered, trying to transform his arms. "Why...What's happening to me? I c- I can't transform..." The Little Sister scrambled over to him and hugged him.

"Please don't die on me Mister Alex." She whispered, staring at the man with her big and yellow and sad eyes.

He sat there for a minute, bewildered by the comment coming from such a small girl. _She's been through so much..._ "Hey, who said I was gonna die?" Alex said softly, brushing her hair back with his hand. "Me and your Big Daddy will stay with you, okay? We're gonna get out of here. I hope you know that." As the Bathysphere traveled to Mercury Suites, Susie hummed quietly, her Big Daddy humming along as well. Mercer looked at the two, surprised that they did this in such harmony. _So, this is what family is like... _Susie nestled into his jacket, yawning. _Never thought it'd be this cute._

Soon after, the Bathysphere made its landing in the holding tank, right near the entrance of Mercury Suites. Johnny gently tapped Alex on the shoulder and shook Susie. Both, who were asleep, woke up.

"Daddy!" Susie cried out, leaping onto her protector's shoulders. Mercer stood up and stretched as Johnny exited the Bathysphere, looking around before opening the door that led into the lobby. As he followed Johnny, his face froze. And Susie's. And Johnny's (if he had one).

Standing right before them was what could have been the most epic brawl in Rapture's time. Splicers fought against other Splicers, blood flew everywhere, shouts and screams of _"Anutthara!"_ and _"Rapture will fall with us!"_ bounced off the walls. The entire place looked like a fort. Computers were at the center column of the room, and boxes and crates full of ADAM and EVE (they were labeled as so) and a table with a large map on it were pushed to the far left. A staircase spiraled upwards, and everywhere there were Splicers. Dead ones and live ones.

"Oh God," Alex groaned. "This can't be good..."

* * *

Doctor McMullen smiled at himself as he looked at a small handheld screen in his office. It showed the Atlantic ocean, a set of coordinates, and a small blinking cursor. Out of curiosity, a Blackwatch soldier looked over his shoulder and tilted his head curiously.

"Excuse me, Doctor?" McMullen whipped around and frowned, hiding the radar behind his back. The soldier shook his head reassuringly. "Don't worry, I'm not going to report it to General Randall. You're safe. It's just...What is that you have there?" Sighing, the doctor gave it to the soldier.

"It's a tracking device."

"...Who are you tracking?"

"...ZEUS." The Blackwatch soldier took a step back.

"But he's-"

"Dead? No. Far from it. Lucky that the last time we caught him, I planted a tracking device in him."

"But how? He would have known and destroyed it."

"Ah," McMullen clapped his hands together and smiled. "But, I made it partially from the anti-virus that we produced not too long ago. It can resist the biomass in Mercer and float freely in him, giving me time to track him."

"How long have you had it in him?" The soldier asked.

"About three weeks."

"...And where is he know?"

"At the bottom of the Atlantic, where I plan to extract him."

"B-But sir!" The Blackwatch solider said. "What about General Randall?"

"Randall can shove it," McMullen muttered. "Once I capture him, I'll put him on the slab in secret," He leaned back into his chair and grinned to himself. "I just need a couple of Blackwatch men, and I'll be on my way...."


	9. Daddy

Staring at the carnage before them, the trio wondered how they could get through all of it. Susie whimpered and wrapped her arms around her protector's helmet, and Alex Mercer merely stood there. He was powerless...Well, except for the good one-hit kill punches and kicks he could deliver. But other than that, these were people who could shoot fire from their veins and freeze their enemies in one shot.

This wasn't good.

Johnny tapped Mercer with a large forefinger and groaned, pointing up the grand spiral staircase. Alex furrowed his brow in confusion. "What," He inquired. "You think the Bathysphere room is upstairs?"

_Rrrrraaaarrrrgh..._

"...I'll take that as a yes." He muttered. His gaze then shifted to Susie's dirtied, frightened face. The cries and screams of dying and fighting Splicers were not common to her, as her mind was full of red carpets and beautifully dressed men and women. For her, the sight of these Splicers fighting broke the beautiful illusion and gave way to the cold, evil hatred that was the reality of Rapture.

"Daddy," Susie whimpered, her eyes full of tears. "Where are the angels, daddy?" Johnny, angered and sad that his voicebox was brutalized by the scientists in Rapture, only groaned lowly. The Little Sister cried, her small voice breaking both Mercer and Johnny's heart. Hesitating before doing so, Alex reached up for Susie and wrapped his hands around her small waist. He picked her up, her eyes wide as she was brought into an embrace. "Don't cry. Your daddy won't like it if you do." Johnny nodded and embraced both Alex and Susie in his big arms. "We're gonna get through this, Susie. One way or another, we're going to get out of here."

_Rrrrrrrgh..._ The Big Daddy agreed. It seemed as if the whole Splicer war completely blurred out, as if it didn't even exist. Mercer felt warm in the hug, but his legs gradually began to feel like jelly, and he collapsed. Johnny caught him and Susie in time. Susie struggled and sat on her daddy's shoulders, while he carried the man in his arms. Alex cringed and twitched in his arms, a black substance began to trickle down his nose. "N-No..." He tried to say, but more of the black stuff gurgled from his mouth. Susie yelped and covered her eyes, her small frame shaking in fear.

"M-Mister Alex!" She screamed. Though the Splicers were in the middle of a war, one's attention was caught by the Little Sister's scream. A man; His was face covered in bandages, except for the two small eye holes provided for his sight. Dressed in rags and hands set aflame, his gaze shifted from his female enemy and to the Little Sister.

"...It's them!" He shouted, his voice carrying over the room. The Splicers all stopped to look at where the man was pointing: A crying Little Sister perched on top of a Bouncer's shoulders. The Bouncer was carrying a man, who was gurgling some sort of black stuff from his mouth. Some Splicers were highly interested in the Little Sister, for she was chock full of ADAM. Some licked their lips, some of them even wooed and yelped in satisfaction. Others, however, were not so amused. They were scared that the Little Sister would be harvested, and for that, something needed to be done. The bandaged man was the first to lunge at the Bouncer, throwing fireballs at him. Johnny roared and slung Mercer over his left shoulder, making his drill hand free to attack. The Big Daddy charged at the man, the drill whirring violently as it made contact with the Splicer's stomach.

"Everyone! Detonate the bombs!" One Splicer called out. She was female, and dressed in an elegant blue robe. Her hands were cold and frozen, due to the Winter Blast plasmid. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a remote. Some of the Splicers in the room also pulled the same thing out. Soon, there were more Splicers that did so. Alex wriggled off of the Big Daddy's shoulder and stood up, turning around to see a remote in nearly all of the Splicers' hands.

Suddenly, a white mist fell from somewhere on the second or third floor. Johnny grabbed Alex and pulled him back, the three avoiding the mist. Every Splicer that had a remote pushed the single red button that was on it. Nothing happened at first, but then an explosion came from the upper left corner of the floor. The mist that gathered soon covered the entire area. Alex cried out as he felt his arm being pulled. "Mister B!" Susie cried out. "Where are you taking us?" The Splicers that were shrouded were soon moving around again, groaning.

"What is this stuff?" One cried out.

"I-Ngh, it's the Mind Control Plasmid!" Another responded.

"Everyone! Fight it off!"

_"That...Won't be necessary..."_ A smooth, calm voice said. It echoed throughout the entire area._ "You see...This plasmid can do great things, such as bend people to their will. It's a shame this city couldn't be filled up to its expectations..."_ Another explosion was heard, but it came from one of the upper floors. Soon, water was pouring over the balcony. _"My plans were ruined, all because of a few hostile Splicers. You were great, all of you. You were to experience everything if my plan came to light. No more war, world hunger, nor prejudice. Sadly...You didn't think my way, and you had to take action..."_

Johnny pulled Alex up the staircase. At times, Mercer had slipped on the water that was collecting and running down the stairs. Fear rushed through him. The fear of water. Susie grabbed hold unto Johnny's helmet and watched as they scaled the second floor.

_"So, since you idiotically ruined your whole city, I'll have to leave. Shame, too...I loved the idea of an underwater city..." _All the Splicers remained silent, already giving in to the voice's will._ "But soon, you will all know_ _my name...Anutthara. And when you do, it will be said with pride. I might leave this city behind, but not without their inhabitants...Oh?"_

Room after room the three went into, but they were all filled with supplies. The water came at their feet now, and time was running out. Alex groaned and leaned against the Big Daddy as they ran. "I don't think I'll make it..." He whispered. Susie growled and bopped Mercer on the head. "You will Mister Alex! Just believe!" Johnny grabbed him with one arm and carried the man while he ran up the staircase and to the third floor.

_"It seems someone's a bit eager to leave..."_ Anutthara said, chuckling._ "Well, let's give them something to remember us by before they go...My Splicers, kill them."_ Instantly, the mind-controlled Splicers all rushed to the staircase, chasing after the three. Susie shrieked as a fireball rushed past her head and into the ceiling. An explosion rocked the ground on which they stood upon, and a door was broken into pieces as another C4 bomb detonated. Water rushed into the area, and Alex grew queasy. He grabbed Johnny's arm with both hands and vomited on the floor. The Big Daddy held on to Mercer tightly as the ran past the water and to an elevator.

The sound of the Splicers grew closer.

Susie screamed and climbed down Johnny's back, avoiding an icicle that was fired from a Houdini Splicer. Alex heaved yet again, retching the black stuff. Anutthara's laughter could be heard everywhere, as if he was with them wherever they went. _"You think you can escape?" _He hissed._ "Just try it. My Splicers will end it all for you...You don't have to worry..."_ Johnny hesitated. The Splicers were coming, and there wasn't enough time...

_I have to._ Johnny thought as he grabbed Susie and shoved her and Alex into the elevator. He slammed the only button that was on there and turned back around. Susie shrieked and yelled, pounding on the glass door as the Splicers were finally visible from the mist. Johnny turned his head to take a one last look at his Little Sister. "Daddy!" She yelled, though it was slightly muffled by the glass the separated them. _"DADDY NO!"_ Mercer grabbed Susie and hugged her. Tears flowed like rivers from her big eyes as her protector waved goodbye. The elevator started to go down, and the last thing Johnny saw of them was Alex Mercer nodding, dark circles ringed the man's eyes and black veins appeared through his skin. He mouthed "Thank you," and then they were gone from his sight.

_"Oh...It's seems like the Big Daddy has sacrificed himself to save his friend...Hmmm...Well, let's make it worthwhile, hmm? Few of you stay, the rest of you...go to the alternate route."_ Johnny's heart sank as he watched a large majority of the Splicers leave and hop down the balcony and to the ground floor. The water was to their knees as they tore apart the left wall. There, in the wall, revealed an elevator. 10 Splicers remained, and now cornered the Big Daddy.

_"Looks like your self-sacrifice gave me an opening. Goodbye, Big Daddy...."_

_

* * *

_Alex looked around in the elevator. There were diving suits on the wall, and the elevator showed that they were going down.

To the ocean floor.

And Alex couldn't swim.

He patted Susie's hair lovingly before getting up and taking a diving suit off the wall. Susie rubbed her eyes and frowned. "Mister Alex...?"

"Close your eyes Susie." He said, pulling back his hood and unzipping the hoodie. Susie did as she was told and closed her eyes. She covered them with her hands for extra measure as Mercer peeled off the articles of clothing until he was naked, and then slipped into the diving suit. He grabbed the oxygen tank that was on the floor and strapped it to his back, and then put on the diving helmet. He plugged the cord from the tank into the diving helmet and waited a moment before turning the valve.

"You can open your eyes now, Susie." The Little Sister looked at Alex in wonder and giggled.

"Y-You look like my daddy." She said, her eyes brimming with tears again. He knelt down and hugged her.

"Hey, hey now...What your daddy did was a great thing, a selfless thing. He did it for you and me, and I think you should be proud of him." Susie fell silent for a moment, and then nodded.

"He's the greatest daddy ever." She said softly. Alex looked through the elevator. They were almost to the sea floor. He turned around to look to his right, and saw another elevator. It was a larger one, and it was going down to the sea floor. Inside were 20...no...it seemed like 40 or 50 Splicers. All dressed in diving suits. A pit of heat formed in Mercer's stomach, both from what he was sick with and from the fear that drilled into him. He faced Susie and asked, "Hey, can you fit into a diving suit?" Susie shook her head and replied, "I don't need one. I can walk underwater! The Big Sisters used to take me outside all the time." He nodded and picked up Susie. She clung to his chest tightly as the elevator stopped. As the door opened to a flooding chamber, he grew dizzy, his vision began to blacken.

_Oh God...No, no, no...Please, not now._ He thought. He swayed from side to side as he ran and turned the valve to let the water in. Susie aided him in turning the valve. "Mister Alex..." She said, fear tracing her tone.

"N-no, I'm okay. Just hang on to me." The doors opened, and the water rushed through. Panic edged in Mercer as the water hit his body. He took a stance before sprinting, but the water made it hard to run, and it only made his movements slower. Turning his head around to look, he could see the Splicers already in action, the agile ones were jumping on coral reefs to get a good view of him, and the other Splicers took the hint and ran towards him. The Bathysphere room was 12 feet away, and there was no time to lose. Susie clung to Alex, oblivious to the Splicers that were chasing after them.

One Splicer used the Telekinesis Plasmid to grab a coral branch and throw it at Mercer, in an attempt to slow him down. It missed, and landed a few feet from where Alex previously was.

_I have to move faster... _He thought, feeling his muscles grow weak from what was inside of him. He started to lose his grip on Susie, but she knew, and clung to him even tighter.

9 feet.

Another coral branch was shot at Alex, but this time the accuracy was perfect, and hit him in the back, missing the oxygen tank by mere inches. Alex stumbled, pain shooting through his spine, but he had to keep going.

6 feet.

A mixture of blood and the black substance that was in him trickled from his mouth and nose. He legs felt weak and his vision began to grow dark. He could see the Bathysphere room, but barely. It was dark and mottled, but he could make out the details.

3 feet.

A Splicer tackled Alex to the sandy bottom. Susie shrieked, her scream muffled by the water and the weight of Alex. He collected himself and stood up, elbowing the Splicer. A sharp pain intruded his abdomen, followed by another in his ribs. The Splicer jumped off, stabbing Mercer in the shoulder before propelling him/herself off. Alex screamed in pain and and continued to run, leaving a trail of blood.

1 foot.

Mercer coughed, the black liquid dribbling out of his mouth. He clung to the valve and turned it with the help of Susie, who used one hand to help him. The Splicers were right behind him, and with the last of his remaining strength he dove into the flooding room and shut the door. Instantly, the water began to drain from the room. Alex panted, dropping Susie and collapsing on the floor. He painfully opened his eyes to Susie, who was staring at his wounds in horror. Blood poured freely from them, refusing to clot up. Panicking, the Little Sister grabbed Mercer's hand and dragged him into the Bathysphere room.

"Daddy...Please don't die!" Alex looked up at the Little Sister with dark and baggy eyes. He frowned and pulled on her hand. Susie held on tightly as he brought her to his chest and stood up. "I'm...I'm not your daddy...I'm just a person here to save you." Susie sniffed and buried her face into his chest as he limped to one of the large stalls, where the Bathyspheres were kept. He opened it, and there, bobbing gently on the surface of the water, was a Bathysphere.

"Ah, ah, ah..." Someone said calmly behind Alex and Susie. A dull pain hit Mercer's legs, then his arms and back. As he collapsed, he could see Splicers, the ones that chased after him right behind him. And in front of them all, stood Anutthara, his diving helmet tucked under his left arm, and a small bloodied switchblade was in his right hand. Susie shrieked and grabbed Alex's hand, dragging him into the Bathysphere.

"Anutthara..." One Splicer said. Anutt raised his hand up.

"Leave her. We'll kill her when we get to the surface..."

As Alex delved into unconsciousness, he used his legs to push himself into the Bathysphere. Once they were both inside, Susie closed the door, her eyes gazing at the Splicers and Anutthara. She reached up and pulled the lever, which set the Bathysphere on, and with that, it dove under the water, and floated up to its destination.

* * *

Susie shook Alex Mercer furiously, but it was no use. He was already unconscious; The parasite inside him shut down the active biomass, making him dive into a coma. There, it would begin to tear Mercer apart from the inside, eating as much of the inactive biomass as possible. After that, it would become inactive itself, the digested Blacklight would be converting inside of the parasite to form a serum, a cure for the Blacklight virus.

Mercer would already be dead by then.

Susie wrenched off the diving helmet and began to slap him over and over again. She stopped after his cheeks were a deep shade of red from all the smacking, but still, he would not wake. She looked at Alex's face. A slight smile was on his lips, his eyes were closed and peaceful, but his skin was white as a ghost's, and his veins were black and visible through it.

"...." She slowly stood back and examined Alex Mercer.

The Bathysphere floated calmly in the sea, halfway towards the surface.

Susie blinked slowly as the former illusion of her vision came back. The Bathysphere was golden, and rose petals surrounded Alex. Little angel wings were drawn on the floor, where his shoulder blades were, and a halo was drawn above his head. A light began to form in his stomach, and it grew brighter by the minute. A bombardment of tears attacked at Susie's eyes, and before long, she laid on top of Mercer, hugging him and settling her head on his chest.

"Daddy..." She sobbed. "Daddy!" Little Susie repeated these words over and over again, until her voice became no more than choking sobs. Before long, the Bathysphere bobbed up to the surface.

Susie was reluctant to go outside.

* * *

Dr. McMullen and a small team of Blackwatch soldiers were on board a helicopter, looking down at the surface of the ocean. McMullen stared at the tracking radar and frowned.

"We're getting closer..." He mumbled. Before long, a Blackwatch soldier spotted something in the sea. It was a round object that bounced gently against the small waves of the sea. McMullen ordered the copter to settle right next to the object, and it did. Two divers that were onboard the copter jumped out and swam to the thing to take a closer look. One diver knocked on the Bathysphere, out of curiosity.

Nothing happened.

Another knock.

Still nothing.

Finally, the diver grabbed the valve and turned it, opening the Bathysphere. There laid a little girl. She was in a mess; Her hair was dirty, and pulled back into a ponytail. Her face and hands were dirty, and her eyes were big and yellow. She shot up and looked at the two men in fear.

"L-leave me and my daddy alone!" She cried out, hugging the body that she laid on top of. McMullen leaned in for a closer look at the body. "...Turn the face around, I can't get a good look." The diver nodded and leaned halfway into the Bathysphere. There, he grabbed a fistful of the man's hair and pulled on it to turn the face around. The face belonged to Alex Mercer. His skin was pale, and his veins were visible through it. His eyes were dark and baggy, and from his nose and mouth trickled an unknown substance. Susie yelled and lunged at the diver. She pounded on him with her fists and screamed.

_"YOU LEAVE HIM ALONE! LEAVE HIM ALONE!"_ The diver cried out in pain and instinctively threw the little girl off of him and into the copter. Susie made an oofing noise before getting up and looking around. She looked at Dr. McMullen and yelled at him. McMullen ignored her and grabbed Mercer, carrying him into the helicopter and setting him inside a man-sized capsule.

"Leave him alone!" Susie yelled, her eyes brimming with newfound tears. Only then did McMullen look at the little girl and her big eyes. They were yellow.... He gently smiled and knelt down, holding out his hand for her to shake it.

"I'm sorry, but..."

"I know! He won't wake up..." She shrunk back a little, intimidated. McMullen nodded slowly, feeling a pang of sympathy for her.

"Can you tell me how he died?"

Susie looked up at McMullen and frowned. "He went to sleep with the angels."

"The angels?"

"Yes..."

McMullen tilted his head a bit and stood up.

"W-wait!" She cried out. "Can I see him?" The doctor hesitated a bit before opening up the capsule. Susie ran to Mercer's side and kissed his forehead before pointing to his stomach. "There's a light in his tummy."

"A light?"

The little girl nodded. McMullen looked at a Gentek scientist, who was looking at Mercer. "I want Mercer on the slab...The minute we touch ground, do you hear me?" The scientist looked up at McMullen and nodded.

"...But sir?"

"Yes?"

"What about the girl?"

He thought about this before answering. "...We ask her questions...And then I want her on the slab, as well." The scientist was taken aback.

"B-but sir! She's just a little girl!"

"I don't care...There's something inside of her that makes her what she is now...And frankly, I want to see what." The Gentek scientist looked at the little girl once more.

Susie had climbed into the capsule and was resting, nuzzling Alex Mercer's chest. The scientist nodded, looking away. "Y-yes sir..."

* * *

**_11:06 PM, The Atlantic._**

Many Bathyspheres rose from the dark depths of the ocean, and all of them opened, revealing a small army of Splicers. Anutthara smiled, sitting cross-legged in his own Bathysphere. _There are going to be some changed in this world,_ He thought. _And they will be...revolutionary..._ He, along with his fellow mind-controlled Splicers, dove into the sea, the sign of land was just a couple of feet away...

**_END_**


	10. Afterword

Well, this is exciting, isn't it? I'm done my first full fledged story of Bioshock and Prototype. Not to mention that it was the first of the crossover in the said category, but anyways...I am here to answer questions.

1.) What was with the parasite in Alex?

a.) At first, it was just going to be a normal sedative, but after some thinking, I wanted more of a significance in it, so I went with the whole parasite thing. General Randall stole the anti-virus that McMullen was still working on, however, McMullen didn't know it. Even up to the very end, he didn't know it. In hoping to kill Mercer, Randall injected the parasite into him while he was still unconscious when they captured him, and, with the suggestion of a Blackwatch soldier, shipped him to the Atlantic Ocean, hoping that he would die there. Inside of Alex, the parasite would feed off of him in small amounts, getting used to the foreign body. This explains Mercer's repeated unconsciousness.

b.) Once it is used to the Blacklight matter, it will begin to feed off of the Blacklight biomass. There, the biomass will be uncertain how to attack the parasite, and will try to overwhelm it. The parasite will fend it off, kill the biomass, and eat it. The biomass will halt in its attempts to shift and attack the parasite, making it useless in Mercer. This would explain the prevention of shifting the biomass/consuming.

c.) Then, the parasite will consume massive amounts of the biomass, storing it inside of itself. There, it would create a cure for the Blacklight Viru, but during all this, the virus must rest in cold body temperatures, and thus it will consume even more biomass, until it forces it to shut down, which left Mercer in a coma. While in its resting period, the parasite forms a serum, and will produce a black substance, which is the waste from the biomass. What is left is the purely converted form of the biomass, which is the cure. The parasite will then rest there until taken out, and McMullen will find the cure to the Blacklight Virus.

2.) What was with the whole Sheen and Matthew thing?

I wanted to create two or more Splicer characters that would have an importance in the story. They ended up being Sheen and Matthew. I was going to make them friends, but I ended up making them enemies. It would make the storyline less attractive if they were friends. It ended up working quite well, actually, and they did end up being somewhat friends in the end. It's the best of both worlds.

3.) Johnny Casing and Susie?

I always wanted to make a Big Daddy/Little Sister OC, and they ended up being Johnny Casing, the man who became the protector of Susie, a Little Sister. Not much is really known about them, mainly because I didn't want them to be widely known. But yes, tragic. Johnny ends up dying to protect his Little Sister, and Susie ends up being dissected.

4.) What happened to Samuel?

I'll leave that up to the reader's imagination.

5.) What happened to Anutthara when the story ended?

Again, it's up to your imagination.

6.) What does Anutthara mean?

I forgot the website where I got the name from, but Anutthara is an Indian male name which roughly means an unanswered journey...Or something like that. Like I said, I forgot.

** 7.) How did the ADAM help Alex?

The ADAM, since it is made of stem cells, would rejuvenate the biomass in Mercer, and also halt the parasite's process. However, it comes at a price. The parasite would get used to the set amount of ADAM that was injected into Mercer, and thus adept to it. Mercer would need a more larger amount of ADAM each time he took it, until it would literally overwhelm the parasite.

** = Written when edited

Any more questions you would like to ask? Private message me or write your question(s) in the review box c:


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